A much belated entry... (Click HERE for the album from the trip!)
Reid left for Chicago (for a conference) about the same time my parents arrived, the last week before school got out. The day my parents were to arrive I felt like a little kid anxiously waiting for Christmas Eve to happen and Santa to finally come. After a little rough start and Indian culture throwing itself at my parents in the baggage claim area (as my mom later said, she had to get her "to Wanda" self out), we had a fabulous week at ASB. They got to see my 3rd and 5th graders perform (where I had my 3rd graders enter with a surprise rendition of "Sankta Lucia", complete with candles and procession), as well as meet all the lovely people I work with and see the general flow of life at ASB.
The Wixsons joined us over the weekend and our first few days in Mumbai were spent walking around, a tour of the Dharavi slum (a highlight for both parents), and once Reid returned, our very own Christmas gathering. My fantastic twin brother had sent with my parents a reed defuser that smelled of a pine tree, since he knew we didn't have one.
We then headed out of Mumbai to see more of India. In Aurangabad, the city that plays the jumping off point for the two ancient cave sites of Ellora and Ajanta (where Reid and I had been the previous year), we had fabulous times exploring the caves, enjoying great tour guides at both places, feeling like rock stars as groups of school children ran over to get their picture taken with us, and we had an enchanting moment in the "choir loft" of a Buddhist prayer hall where the maintenance man came up to let us in and also sang buddhist chants for us that hauntingly and beautifully filled in that echoey space. We also walked around the "mini" Taj Mahal, and had some of the best chicken kebabs in India.
Rajasthan was next on the list, and we headed up to Jodhpur (the Blue City with the massive fort), Ranikpur (a small country area with a famous Jain temple), and finally Udaipur (the site of the Lake Palace that is also in the movie "Octopussy").
Rajasthan brought us many other great touring sites, including a tangled walk through the old Blue City, fabulous lassis that tasted like key lime pie, a 16 km hike through the jungle complete with local tribal guide (who we realized had been carrying a small tube of anti-cobra venom with him the whole time!), textile shopping, folk dance concert, lake cruise, palace and fort tours, and many, many rooftop meals.
Christmas Eve we went to a nicer rooftop restaurant below the Jodhpur Fort, where we had delicious food with a few friends from ASB who were also traveling through Jodhpur at the time, and finished off the evening by singing Christmas carols. New Years Eve we stayed in (we were in Udaipur), had a feast while watching Octopussy. By midnight, the Wixsons were fast asleep, but, the Widens went back up to the roof and saw a huge spectacle of fireworks. I stood there, snuggling into my dad's arm around me (his other around mom) and watched as those bursts of colored lights went off 360˚ around us for 15 minutes straight. I will remember that moment, and what it felt like the rest of my life.
Now, not everything was perfect (as most trips in India aren't). A little Delhi belly, a lost passport for a bit, a hotel with less than desirable bathrooms (who needs a toilet seat and hot water anyway?), the craziness that is Mumbai, complete with persistent beggars or shopkeepers....
And it's always interesting to see India through someone else's eyes, or how they react. Even though some things are hard, you can't protect people from it, and really, one needs to experience ALL of India to even begin to comprehend this place. Our parents were fantastic through it all. I think what I will remember the most are things like my mom giggling in the rickshaw (proclaiming it was just like when she used to play bumper cars with her brother Ben, only nobody crashes), or how she found such joy and peace in the small things that I had begun to miss. Or Rob becoming best friends with the drivers and waiters, making those connections to the people here who make this country what it is. Emily's spirit of adventure and ease with anything that we did and reflective conversation throughout the trip. My dad putting his feelings of helplessness about the poverty into action by looking into what NGO he could begin to donate monthly to when they returned.
So many people gave us this shocked look when we said that both sets of parents were coming to visit. "Are you crazy" or "Wow... you're brave" were common comments. But, that had never occurred to us. I realized how thankful I am that we both have such wonderful and supportive parents, who not only love us, but love us so much to have come all the way here to understand this part of our lives, and to share that with one another.
Reid and I are truly blessed.
And for photos of this excellent month of experiences, click HERE for the album from the trip!
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